Postgame quotes from Deerfield Beach's emotional semifinal loss

Steve GortenSun Sentinel

You could hear the crying and screams of frustration inside Deerfield Beach’s locker room after the game from the tunnel down the long hallway and around the corner.

Aiming to win their first boys basketball state championship since 1999 and third in program history, the Bucks lost 57-54 to Oviedo Hagerty in the Class 8A state semifinals on a buzzer-beater late Friday night. Luke Doyle sank a 3-pointer to end the Bucks’ season.

Afterward, none of the requested Bucks players appeared for the postgame interviews. Too heartbroken. Coach Kenny Brown apparently was, too, because he also didn’t come out. Assistant coach Jevon Glenn spoke in is place. Much credit to Glenn. Here’s what he had to say about the loss:

Q: What’s it like in the locker room right now?

A: “Everyone’s heartbroken. A lot of tears. It’s complete disappointment. We set our goals to come back this year and win the state championship and it’s overwhelming. It’s heartbreaking.”

Q: What are your thoughts on how the team played?

A: “We dug ourselves a hole. We struggled offensively for a while where we couldn’t score for several minutes at a time. We just asked the kids to keep fighting, keep fighting and they battled back, to their credit. They showed a lot of heart to get back into the game. We just needed one more step and [Doyle], to his credit, hit a hell of a shot. That’s a big-time shot, contested. Big-time players make big-time shots. My hat’s off to him.”

Q: Did you expect Hagerty to go to him? What was your feeling the last possession?

A: “We just wanted to dig in and play like we played all year, as far as switching on picks and keeping everybody in front of us, make them have to hit a shot like they did in order to beat us.”

Q: How key was Joshua Huntley (team-high 14 points) in keeping you close and giving you a chance to win?

A: “We struggled offensively with our big three – [Marcus] Owens, [Terence] Johnson and [Javaris] Jenkins. They struggled all night and Huntley played the game of his life. Without him, the game would have been over a long time ago. He gave us everything he had.”

Q: Why do you think Owens and Johnson didn’t play as well as usual?

A: “Not trying to speak for them, but maybe it’s the culmination of four years of hard work and to be so close, maybe they put a little too much pressure on themselves to go out and force the issue a little bit, which led them to take some shots that probably weren’t good shots. But they did it all in passion and trying to win. They made mistakes trying to win, not from fear or anything like that.”

Q: What did you think about Hagerty’s deliberate style of play?

A: “We were ready for it. We faced teams like that throughout this playoff run. Cypress Bay is a team just like that, maybe smaller. Jupiter, small style of team. That was not the issue. We averaged close to 70 points a game this year.

"Our problem was we couldn’t put the ball in the hole. …They stuck to their system and they were able to impose their will more in the game than we were. We weren’t able to impose our will until the latter stages.”